


Hope

by the_13th_battalion



Series: Zygerria/Kadavo Chronicles [11]
Category: Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Anakin Skywalker Needs a Hug, Angst, Gen, Hallucinations, Insomnia, Slavery, Zygerria Arc (Star Wars: Clone Wars), at all, remember how fluffy the last one was???, sorry :), this one is not that, yeahhhhhh
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-17
Updated: 2021-02-17
Packaged: 2021-03-12 03:53:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 656
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29503695
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/the_13th_battalion/pseuds/the_13th_battalion
Summary: "You okay, Skyguy?""I'm fine." Anakin squeezed her hand. "But how? How did you get out? How did you find me?"Ahsoka's smile turned from joyful to bittersweet. "I've been trying to tell you. I didn't."
Relationships: Anakin Skywalker & Ahsoka Tano
Series: Zygerria/Kadavo Chronicles [11]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2127948
Comments: 3
Kudos: 49
Collections: febuwhump 2021





	Hope

**Author's Note:**

> Hi friends!!!! Here's day 11, "hallucinations"!!! Enjoy the pain I guess :)

Anakin forgot the number of nights he had gone without sleep. He feared closing his eyes. He feared the nightmares he knew would come. He feared opening his eyes to a dusty hut and endless sand, or cat-like features leering in his face.

The cityscape blurred in front of him. He sat on the windowsill with his knees drawn to his chest. He stared at the rooftops below, so much lower than the lofty steeples of the palace, and wished to disappear among them. If not for the sheer height of his perch and the fatal impact, if he didn't fear what they'd do to Ahsoka with him gone, he would have leapt from it days ago.

He rubbed his eyes. They ached and burned under his touch. His head had a pulse of its own. It made itself known with relentless ferocity. If he had a mirror, he thought he would not recognize his own face.

_Doesn't matter. I'll survive._

A light footstep brushed the floor behind him. He startled and whirled around with flailing limbs, one hand going for the window frame and the other for a lightsaber that wasn't there.

"It's okay, it's just me!"

Anakin blinked. "Snips?"

Ahsoka stood in the center of the room, her hands raised with her palms facing him. Her eyes were wide with urgency and, at the same time, relief. "I found you!"

Hope flooded his chest. His heart soared. His feet slid to the floor. He never took his eyes off her. "What- how-"

"No time to explain!" She stepped forward and grabbed his hand. "I've been watching the guards and I know their routine. They should all be towards the south wing. If we hurry, we can still get out before some of them come back over here!"

Anakin laughed incredulously. "You're _brilliant_ , I- How did you figure that out? You've been- Ahsoka, you've been in a _cage_!"

She shrugged. "You taught me well!"

Anakin shook his head. "I can't believe it..."

"Just try, even for a minute!"

Ahsoka held his gaze. The urgency in her eyes increased, as if she were trying to tell him something. Anakin reached to her in the Force. Her presence was muted and distant, as if she were still on the opposite side of the palace and not standing in front of him.

In the back of his mind, doubt nagged him. _This is wrong._

She tugged on his hand. "Come on, let's go!"

He stayed rooted to his spot. "You're sure you figured a way out?"

Ahsoka grinned and lightly punched his arm. "Yeah! When have I ever let you down?"

"Never!"

He grasped her shoulder. Her skin was warm under his trembling fingers and through the thick tunic she wore. She was clear of the dirt and bruises he expected to find. Her eyes shone as she stared back at him.

He tried to calm his mind. Ahsoka had found him. She had escaped. She was here, in front of him; happy, healthy, _whole._

His heart swelled. _I can't believe it!_

"You okay, Skyguy?"

"I'm fine." Anakin squeezed her hand. "But _how_? How did you get out? How did you find me?"

Ahsoka's smile turned from joyful to bittersweet. "I've been trying to tell you. I didn't."

His face fell. "What?"

He blinked and she was gone.

Anakin's grip closed around empty air. The space Ahsoka had just occupied with her warmth and light now sat cold and vacant.

His breath caught in his throat. "Ahsoka?" He scanned the room. His voice sounded small even to his own ears. "'Soka?"

His gaze stopped on the door. _I never heard the latch._

_That wasn't real._

"No..." His quivering legs finally buckled under his weight. He fell to his knees. The hope in his heart faded and was replaced with despair.

"Ahsoka, come back," he whispered.

There was no reply. He buried his face in his hands and wept.


End file.
